Compound (Ia) is disclosed in Example 17 of the International Publication No. WO2013/102142. Compound (Ia) binds to hemoglobin and increases it oxygen affinity and hence can be useful for the treatment of diseases such as sickle cell disease.
In general, for a compound to be suitable as a therapeutic agent or part of a therapeutic agent, the compound synthesis must be amendable to large scale manufacturing and isolation. The large scale manufacturing and isolation should not impact the physical properties and purity of the compound nor should it negatively impact cost or efficacy of a formulated active ingredient. Accordingly, scale up of manufacturing and isolation may require significant efforts to meet these goals.